Genesis · Weekly Torah portion
Parashat Vayeraוַיֵּרָא
Torah reading
Genesis 18:1-22:24
Haftarah
II Kings 4:1-37
Sephardic: II Kings 4:1-23
What happens in Vayera
Three strangers visit Abraham's tent, and his eagerness to welcome them becomes the Torah's model of hospitality. They carry news: Sarah, at ninety, will have a son. When God reveals plans to destroy Sodom, Abraham argues back — 'Shall the Judge of all the earth not act justly?' — bargaining from fifty righteous people down to ten. Isaac is born and named for Sarah's laughter. The parsha closes with the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, the Torah's most wrestled-with test of faith.
Big themes
- Welcoming the stranger
- Arguing for justice
- Tests and trust
If this is your bar or bat mitzvah portion
Abraham argues with God — respectfully, persistently, on behalf of strangers. Vayera teaches that questioning is not the opposite of faith; sometimes it's the highest form of it. That's a powerful frame for a student finding their own voice.
Learning to chant Vayera?
Ready 13 builds a verse-by-verse practice plan for this exact portion — chanted reference audio, karaoke highlighting, trope games, and a countdown that keeps the big day on track.
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